Corn, Soy, and Switchgrass as Biofuels

It seems that the topic of alternative fuels are high on the list of hot topic the last few days. Here are some discussion threads I found on the web:

GreenCarCongress discusses the use of microbial fuel cells (MFC) to convert corn stover directly into electricity.

ARS researchers are looking into switching to switchgrass, a native prairie grass, as an alternative to corn in biofuel production. They say it’s a logical alternative to corn, as it grows well under minimum looking after. Each ton of dry switchgrass might yield as much as 96 gallons of ethanol.

FuturePundit cites a report that claims biodiesel is better than corn for ethanol, but opines that research funds are better spent on developing better photovoltaics. Mike at ifEnergy seems to agree.